Message from Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the Occasion of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

　　教科文组织总干事伊琳娜·博科娃女士在世界土著人民国际日的致辞

　　9 August 2017

　　2017年8月9日

　　This year, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the landmark UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This is an opportunity to honour the rights of indigenous peoples and their unique contribution to achieving mutual understanding, peace and sustainable development. Indigenous peoples are custodians and practitioners of unique cultures and relationships with the natural environment. They embody a wide range of linguistic and cultural diversity at the heart of our shared humanity. Protecting their rights and dignity is protecting everyone’s rights and respecting humanity’s soul, past and future.

　　今年，我们纪念具有里程碑意义的《联合国土著人民权利宣言》十周年。值此良机，让我们弘扬土著人民权利，弘扬他们对实现相互理解、和平与可持续发展的独特贡献。土著人民传承并践行着独特的文化，与自然环境和睦相处。他们所广泛体现的语言多样性和文化多样性，是我们共同人性的核心所在。保护他们的权利和尊严，就是保护我们自己的权利，尊重人类的灵魂、过去与未来。

　　The protection and well-being of indigenous peoples has never been so important. Despite their cultural diversity and homelands across 90 countries, they share common challenges related to the protection of their rights as distinct peoples. 370 million indigenous peoples make up less than 5 per cent of the world’s population but account for 15 per cent of the poorest.

　　土著人民的保护和福祉从未如此重要。虽然土著人民文化多样，家园也分布在90多个国家，但作为与众不同的民族，他们在保护自己权利方面面临着共同的挑战。3.7亿土著人民，虽然不到世界人口的5%，却占世界最贫穷人口的15%。

　　In this spirit, UNESCO’s latest Global Education Monitoring Report provides concrete guidance and policy advice for the advancement of indigenous peoples’ rights’. UNESCO launched the Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) programme in 2002 to support governments in creating synergies between scientific and indigenous peoples’ knowledge. This has been furthered through a policy brief on “Indigenous and Local Knowledge(s) and Science(s) for Sustainable Development” issued by The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the United Nations Secretary-General. All this inspires UNESCO’s new Policy on Engaging with Indigenous Peoples to ensure a stronger implementation of the UN Declaration. This will not only be beneficial to indigenous peoples but for all of humanity and our planet. Let us join our efforts and share this message – #weareindigenous!

　　本着这样的精神，教科文组织最新一期的《全球教育监测报告》为推进土著人民权利提供了具体指南和政策建议。2002年，教科文组织推出了“当地和土著人的知识体系”计划，旨在支持各国政府在科学知识和土著人民知识间形成合力。联合国秘书长科学咨询委员会发布“土著和当地知识与科学促进可持续发展”政策简报，进一步推动了这项工作。这一切都启发了教科文组织全新的“与土著人民交往政策”，以确保联合国宣言的有力实施。受益的将不仅是土著人民，而是全人类和我们的地球。让我们共同努力，并且一起传播这样一个讯息：#weareindigenous(我们都是土著人)!